Main line rail industry news – Page 290
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NewsIndian Railways starts double-stack electric operation
INDIA: Regular operation of electrically-hauled double-stack container trains on the Indian Railways network began on June 10, with the start of electric haulage on the 272 km Palanpur – Botad section of the Western Railway. IR began exploring the feasibility of running double-stack trains ...
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NewsBridge collapse interrupts railway to Murmansk
RUSSIA: The northern port city of Murmansk was cut off from the national rail network when a bridge over the River Kola collapsed on June 1. The bridge 15 km south of Murmansk was built in 1930 and renovated in 2014. Train services had already been stopped ...
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NewsAlpen-Sylt Nachtexpress links the Alps and the North Sea
EUROPE: RDC Deutschland has opened bookings for the Alpen-Sylt Nachtexpress, a seasonal overnight train between the German North Sea island of Sylt and Salzburg in Austria which will launch on July 4. ‘We believe in the successful renaissance of night trains in Europe’, said Managing Director Dr ...
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NewsCoronavirus crisis offers lessons for rail freight policy
EUROPE: The European Rail Freight Association says lessons about the key success factors for rail freight can be learned from the significant improvement in performance which has occurred as a direct consequence of the drastic reduction in passenger traffic during the coronavirus pandemic. Shippers have long been ...
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NewsReliability focus and capital investment in NJ Transit strategic plan
USA: Reconstruction of Hoboken Terminal to improve flood resilience and a trial of battery-electric trains are among the rail projects identified in the NJT2030 10-year strategic plan unveiled by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NJ Transit President & CEO Kevin Corbett on June 8.
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NewsTMH International completes DJJ acquisition
HUNGARY: A Transmashholding-led joint venture has completed its acquisition of the Dunakeszi Járműjavító rolling stock manufacturing plant in Hungary, which the group intends to develop as its main manufacturing and services hub for central and eastern Europe.
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NewsAddis Ababa – Khartoum railway study funded
AFRICA: Funding has been awarded for a comprehensive study of the technical, economic, environmental and social feasibility of building a 1 435 mm gauge railway linking Addis Ababa in Ethiopia with Khartoum in Sudan, together with an extension to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The two-year ...
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NewsPärnu – Latvian border Rail Baltica contract awarded
ESTONIA: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail has awarded a consortium of Indra subsidiary Protec and Obermeyer Planen + Beraten a €10·8m contract to provide design and construction supervision services for the 93·5 km section of the double-track route between Pärnu and the border with Latvia. To ...
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NewsNew York MTA implements 13-point reopening plan
Source: Joseph M Calisi USA: A 13-point plan to return subway and commuter rail services to pre-coronavirus levels was launched by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on June 8. The action plan includes: an increase in services; additional cleaning and disinfecting; mandatory use of face coverings ...
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NewsKoper Second Track loan signed
Source: drugitir.si SLOVENIA: The state company 2TDK, formed to construct the new alignment which will provide a second track between the port of Koper and the main line at Divača, has signed a €112·5m long-term loan agreement with banking group NLB. The loan signed on May 29 ...
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NewsAlliance targets doubling of freight market share
FRANCE: Plans to relaunch the rail freight business are now being finalised in preparation for formal presentation to the government by the end of this month. Drawn up by the Fret Ferroviaire Français du Futur alliance (4F), the proposals aim to double rail’s share of the freight ...
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NewsEuropean coalition to improve international rail travel
EUROPE: A willingness to co-operate to increase rail’s share of the international passenger market is a set out in political statement signed by a ‘coalition of the willing’ comprising all EU member states except Croatia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta (the latter two having no railways) and including ...
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NewsRobotic welding at Tikhvin wagon factory
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co has installed a robot for welding open wagon components at its Tikhvin plant, ensuring high quality welds by minimising human variability. The company said the robot would release highly-skilled specialist electric gas welders to undertake other work which requires semiautomatic welding. The robotic ...
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NewsČortanovci tunnel drilling completed
SERBIA: Drilling of the 1 156 m long second bore of the Čortanovci tunnel was completed with a breakthrough ceremony on June 5. The 1 086 m first bore had been holed through on April 3. Under construction since August 2017, the Čortanovci tunnel and an adjacent ...
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NewsFirst trainset for Rielsfera low cost high speed rail services heads to Spain
SPAIN: The first of nine double-deck TGV Duplex trainsets being modified for use by SNCF’s Spanish subsidiary Rielsfera was despatched from the Technicentre Est-Européen at Pantin in France on June 6 following the installation of signalling and train protection equipment needed for operation in Spain.
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NewsRumo signs Paulista railway concession
BRAZIL: National land transportation agency ANTT and the Ministry of Infrastructure have signed the long-awaited extension of Rumo Logística’s concession to manage and operate the Paulista network. The concession covers 1 463 km of 1 600 mm gauge route, 243 km of 1 000 mm gauge ...
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NewsHydrogen train development agreement signed
ITALY: A five-year agreement for the development of hydrogen trains and associated infrastructure has been signed by Alstom and energy company Snam. Under the agreement announced on June 4, Alstom would manufacture and maintain newly-built or converted hydrogen trains, while Snam would develop infrastructure for hydrogen production, ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The first two of four CZ Loko Effishunter 1000 locomotives ordered by Slovenia’s SŽ-Tovorni Promet in January 2019 were delivered on June 3. They are quieter and 24% more powerful than the operator’s existing shunting locos, and meet Euro Stage IIIB emission standards. A single Effishunter 1000 ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse begins production of low-noise brake blocks for new wagons
SPAIN: Knorr-Bremse’s Pamplona plant has begun volume production of Problock J816M low-noise composite brake blocks for new-build wagons, adding to the low-noise brake blocks which the company supplies for retrofitting to existing vehicles. ‘This product represents a key strategic addition to our portfolio’, said Dr. Nicolas Lange, ...
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NewsLineas announces barge replacement train services
GERMANY: To facilitate a shift of freight from barge to rail at a time when water levels in the River Rhein are at their lowest in five years, Lineas is to increase its services and capacity on the corridor over the summer period from June 15. ‘With ...